27 Books That Should Be On Your Radar: April 2021

Editor's note: Another month, another ginormous stack of books to read. What a great literary life we lead! As always, we encourage you to do whatever you can to support your local bookstore, including purchasing audiobooks from our sponsor Libro.fm. Stay safe, keep reading!—Daniel Ford

I've been reading short stories by James Baldwin and sections of Robert Jones, Jr.'s The Prophets to get inspired by my own writing. I can highly recommend this process. Also, every short story in Baldwin's collection Going to Meet the Man is a gem, but “Sonny’s Blues” is a real stand out.

Judy Batalion’s The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos is high on our #TBR list.

Flynn Berry’s Northern Spy was certainly a gripping read, but it was also a damn good character study of a mother living in Northern Island.

I've been excited about this memoir ever since Brandi Carlile was featured in The New York Times in early April. One of my favorite musicians. Add all her songs to your writing playlist.—Daniel Ford

Who doesn't love a nostalgic trip down Satanic Panic memory lane?

We loved the first two books in Karen Grey's retro rom-com series and there's every indication that we'll spin right round for the third.

Morgan Jerkins teased her debut novel when she was on the show and we've been looking forward to diving into it ever since. What a literary talent.

When your bookworm niece tells you to read something, you listen. I’ll be hard pressed to find two characters I love more this year than Lily and Kath. Malinda Lo set the bar very, very high.—Daniel Ford

Anxiously awaiting European travel? Jenn McKinlay’s breezy rom-com will hold you over until you can safely plan your next trip abroad.—Stephanie Ford

A.E. Osworth's We Are Watching Eliza Bright features a female video game coder whose life is turned upside down after she reports workplace harassment. We've heard a lot of good buzz about this one and we can confirm that it’s all deserved.

An all-timer subtitle. Eager to chat with Ben Philippe about his essay collection Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Other Side of the Fist Bump. His interview with the Los Angeles Times also including this gem: “Maybe I bamboozled the editors, but it was never a conscious thing.”

I don't want to step on the NovelClass chat below, so I'll just say that I love the way Kirstin Valdez Quade writes. I return to her short story collection Night at the Fiestas time and time again for inspiration, and I'll likely be doing the same with her debut novel The Five Wounds. —Daniel Ford

Mindy Kaling adapting your debut novel for television (and you're writing the screenplay) is a totally normal life occurrence. We can't wait to see Sanjena Sathian's characters on screen because we loved every single one of them. This book is life out loud funny while also featuring some beautiful sentences that'll rip your heart out.

You had us with murder, rom-com, and aunties.

Also, author goals:

Written in 1941, the premise of this posthumously published Richard Wright novel is just as relevant in 2021:

Fred Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city’s sewer system.

Author's Corner

Kirstin Valdez Quade, recent Friday Morning Coffee guest and author of The Five Wounds, stopped by recently and gave us a trio of great recommendations, so you should add both to your reading list and buy them from your local bookstore, Bookshop.org, Indiebound, or Libro.fm.

Pop Literacy

Every month, we'll now be including all the terrific pop culture books Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Kimberly Potts featuring on Pop Literacy. Here are six to catch up on:

NovelClass

In the Season 5 premiere of NovelClass, host Dave Pezza and guest host Daniel Ford discuss Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.

In Episode 5.02, Dave Pezza and guest host Steph Post (Miraculum, the Lightwood series) take a deep dive into Kirstin Valdez Quade’s The Five Wounds.

Writer's Bone

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